


Truth of Ourselves

by Seneca



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Canon, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Multi, Slow Burn, same age as in the show
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-13
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-05-21 14:36:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14917191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seneca/pseuds/Seneca
Summary: Nicole Haught, a small time rancher, meets Waverly Earp, a city girl with a troubled past. Tragedy strikes the Earp family and Nicole is there to pick up the pieces. Will Nicole finally be the one to break down Waverly's walls or will this city girl continue to run from her past and hide from her future?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic ever! This plot has been bouncing around my head for a couple weeks now and I figured I'd just take the plunge and start writing. Please tell me what you think of it and I'm always open to suggestions and constructive criticism. I don't know how often I will post but aside from this first chapter I probably wont upload until I have a few more chapters finished.
> 
> This first chapter is really just setting the scene, there will be a lot more Wayhaught coming up!

It was a beautiful foggy morning the day Ward Earp died. The birds chirped cheerily with not a care in the world, the deer escaped further into the thick forest as the morning rays illuminated their favorite breakfast spot, and the vast expanse of the country side was covered in a heavy blanket of dew. All things considered, this morning was picture perfect; however, nobody in the small town of Purgatory would ever remember it as such … nobody, including one Nicole Haught.

The day started off as every other day for Nicole, in that she was up before the sun and out the door to tend to her small but lucrative farm. As she strolled out to the barn she found herself mesmerized by the image of a young buck standing no more than thirty yards ahead of her. She could see the scars on his body, scars that showed he had experienced great amounts of pain but always came out on the other side. She would also see the look in his eyes; big auburn eyes that conveyed a myriad of emotions, but none greater than trust. He looked at Nicole as if to say “I trust you. I am safe. And I don’t fear you.” It was this thought that brought Nicole out of the strange space she had just shared with the animal, for something was off and missing. Usually by this time of morning no deer would be caught around the barn for a certain black lab would have surely chased it off, not out of anger, but out of pure curiosity. Yet, this morning there was no lab not even a distant echoing bark signaling he had caught the scent of an animal further out onto the property. There was nothing. 

Nicole found this extremely odd and, out of the same curiosity that drove a certain black lab to chase deer, she found herself walking passed the barn and to the top of the ridge. She expected to see Sawyer, the black lab, sitting beside his owner Ward the porch of the Earp homestead. This wouldn’t have been an uncommon scene, for Ward would occasionally be awoken during the night by haunting nightmares and instead of attempting sleep once more he would sit outside and watch the world wake up. However, that is not what Nicole witnessed. Instead she saw at least four police cruisers parked haphazardly outside of the old rickety home, an ambulance, and finally just to the left of the porch, a coroner’s van.

As she made her way down the other side of the ridge she caught the eye of Sherriff Nedley, who had been talking with the coroner just as the can door was shut and driven off the property.

“Sherriff what’s going on here?”, questioned Nicole as the sheriff ushered her to the back of his car. The drive up to the homestead was a muddy pit due to all of the vehicles coming in and out and Nicole had to watch her step as there were now large holes in the earth. Ward is going to be pissed, she thought as she stepped over one of the larger holes on the property. “Nicole something has happened.” Nedley tilted his head towards the front door, trying to get Nicole to understand what he was saying without actually saying it. Nicole shifted her gaze from the sherriff to the homestead and back again. “Yes sir, I can see that, but what actually happened?”  
Nedley didn’t say anything, for a moment Nicole thought he was never going to, he just looked at her and then slowly turned around so that they were both facing the front porch of the Earp homestead and said, “Ward is dead. Looks like a heart attack but we’ll have to perform an autopsy to be sure.”  
To say that Nicole was shocked to hear that Ward Earp died of a heart attack would be untrue. That man smoked like a chimney, drank like a fish, and had a diet that consisted mostly of deer, rabbit, and whatever vegetable he managed not to kill in that pathetic excuse of a garden he tended to every spring.

“But I just saw him yesterday”, Nicole all but whispered. “He helped me fix that part of the fence, just behind the barn, that got knocked down in the storm a couple weeks ago. He seemed fine.” Ward Earp wasn’t the softest man that had ever lived but he sure as hell was a good neighbor and some would even say friend. Nicole remembered how when she first moved out to the country he helped her get a handle on things in a way that didn’t feel overpowering or patronizing. He was kid of the reason she didn’t pack up her things and move back to the city after a couple rough first days with her herd of cattle, she had a lot to thank him for.

A low gruff chuckle coming from Nedley brought Nicole back to the present, “I guess all that rabbit finally did him in”. It was that small comment from Nedley that really put their weird symbiotic relationship into perspective. Ward and the sheriff were never really friends but there was always a sense of mutual respect between them. Occasionally Ward would find himself in the only cell within the tiny police station after a rowdy night of drinking in town. He’d wake up tired and pissed off, usually throwing a couple obscenities towards whichever deputy was lucky enough to be working the morning shift. However, on his way out he’d always pass by the sheriff’s office and give him a nod as if saying, thank you for making sure I didn’t do anything too stupid. 

Nicole felt a tiny smile creep onto her face as she remembered all things Ward Earp. In reality, there wasn’t much to remember. He was a good man but not many people knew much about him. “Does he have a family?” Nicole asked as she turned toward Nedley, seemingly bringing him out of his own thoughts presumably revolving around his own time with Ward. “Um yes, yes he does. Three daughters, actually.” Replied Nedley. Nicole was taken aback by this new information. Ward had never mentioned a family, especially not three kids. What else didn’t she know about him? “We managed to contact his youngest…damn what was her name, it started with a ‘W’. Anyways, she’s on her way out here now; should be arriving tomorrow morning and I was hoping you’d be able to meet her out here. I’ll of course speak with her about the legal issues and such but she’s never been out this far into the country and I thought you’d be the better person to get her up to speed on all things Ward.” At this Nedley started to head to the front of his cruiser while trying to avoid getting his police issued boots too muddy, he did have a reputation to uphold. Nicole soon started after him. “Wait! Sir I don’t know if I should be the one to show his daughter around. I mean I didn’t even know she existed until two minutes ago!” Nedley got into his cruiser and shut the door before looking up at the anxious young rancher. “Ah you’ll be fine kid. Just meet the girl, take her around the property and that will be that. Oh! And make sure she does something with that damn dog of his…” At the mention of Sawyer Nicole remembered that she still hadn’t seen him this morning. “I think he’s still in the bedroom where we found Ward.” 

Before Nicole could say anything, the police cruiser was tearing off down then already worn and weathered drive towards town. He didn’t get more than fifty yards away before he suddenly stopped, perched his head out the window and yelled, “Oh and her name is Waverly!”. And with that Nicole was left alone standing in front of an old rickety homestead on a beautiful foggy morning where the birds chirped cheerily, the deer escaped further into the forest, and the vast expanse of the country side was covered in a heavy blanket of dew.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter Nicole and Waverly meet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I know I said I wasn't going to post anymore without first writing a few chapters but honestly I'm too impatient for that. I probably won't have an update schedule. I might upload one chapter a week or 3 in one day...who knows!

The rest of Nicole’s day was uneventful. After attempting and failing to get Sawyer to leave the homestead and follow her back up the ridge she decided it best to let the mourning lab stay in the house and left a bowl of food and water just inside the front door. By the time she made it up over the ridge and back to the barn it was nearly 7am. Although most residents of purgatory would just be waking up for the day Nicole knew she had a ton to do and was really behind schedule. By the time she had fed the chickens and horses, checked on the herd, and made some much-needed repairs to a couple sheds behind the house, it was 8pm. Nicole dragged her exhausted form into the house and walked straight to her room where she unceremoniously flopped down on the bed and was soon overcome with sleep.

A loud bark just outside Nicole’s window woke her up with a start. “What the hell?” She looked over at her clock and saw that she still had thirty minutes left until she absolutely needed to get up. Just as her head was about to hit her satin covered pillow another bark rand out, this time accompanied by a bang against her front door. She threw off her covers and headed towards the door when she suddenly came into contact with her tool box that she left in the middle of the floor. “Jesus Christ! Seriously?” she exclaimed as she examined her rapidly reddening toe. “I can’t believe I was too tired to even push this damn thing against the wall”.

Suddenly her attention was brought back to the reason she was even up in the first place when she heard another bark, this time accompanied by the image of Sawyer standing up on his two back legs and hilariously attempting to open the door with his rather large mouth. 

“Hey boy how’re you doing huh?”

Sawyer backed up as Nicole opened the door and allowed him inside. “I guess we should both get ready. Today’s a big day.” Sawyer barked in agreement as he followed Nicole into the kitchen. 

After giving the pup some of the dog food she usually kept for whenever he found his way up the ridge Nicole made herself a big cup of coffee and some eggs. They both sat out on the porched and ate their breakfast. Every so often Nicole would glance down at the black lab and find herself wondering what was going through his head. Did he know what happened to Ward? Was he going to act differently? Was Ward’s daughter even going to want him? Sawyer brought her back to the present when he took off after some birds in the nearby field. Nicole smiled to herself as she watched Ward’s dog leap into the air in attempts of nabbing one of those curious little critters, “HaHa I guess that means I should get going too”, she yelled across the field as she brought her dishes back inside and changed for the day.

The sun had yet to even fully break the horizon by the time she had gotten dressed, cleaned up around the house, and fed the chickens and horses so she figured she would have plenty of time to finish up some barbed wire fencing along the edge of her property line before she had to meet Ward’s daughter down on the homestead.  
Nicole hated putting up fencing, even with the help of someone else it was still a hassle; doing it alone was nearly impossible. However, Nicole knew it needed to be done sooner rather than later because she would be getting a couple more cattle within the next month and the herd would need way more space to keep everyone comfortable. When tasked with something like this she would usually head down to Ward’s and beg for his assistance. He would of course always give the whole “I’m too old for all this shit” spiel while simultaneously pulling on his work boots and grabbing his tool box from under the porch before he led the way up to wherever Nicole needed him.

After grabbing the supplies she would need to finish the project, Nicole loaded everything onto her blue Ford F150 and headed out over the ridge. After unloading everything she started what would be a very long process. She first needed to dig holes for the posts, which wasn’t as bad a she had anticipated thanks to the recent rain. By the time she had a couple posts in the ground Sawyer had made his way over. He would occasionally seek out shelter under Nicole’s truck in hopes of avoiding the blistering sun but then he’d see some critter scurrying across the grass and he’d be off again. 

Nicole had been working on the fence for a couple of hours when she heard the familiar sound of someone driving down the road towards Ward’s homestead. She lazily continued to wrap the wire around the post she had just placed in the ground as she watched a rather funny site unfold. A bright red jeep rounded the corner towards the homestead and, in an attempt to avoid all of the newly created potholes, managed to hit just about every one of them. 

“That must be the city girl, huh boy?” 

Nicole didn’t know if it was her exhausted state or the fact that Sawyer had been curiously watching the whole thing unfold as well but she just started laughing uncontrollably. The only problem was the more she laughed, the looser her grip on the fence post got. It was when the Jeep hit a particularly deep hole that Nicole absolutely lost it. Before she could realize what was happening, the post wrapped in wire, slipped from her grasp and in an attempt to save Sawyer from a pretty big knock to the head she reached for the hanging wire and while managing to spare the poor dog, also sliced her had pretty bad. 

Nicole’s pained yelp startled Sawyer, who then let out a bark of his own. Although the gloves she was wearing protected her from the worst of the wire there was still quite a bit of blood seeping through the gray material. It was only when she noticed Sawyer looking intensely at something that she realized the driver of the jeep had already gotten out, heard all the commotion, and was now staring at her up on top of the ridge. 

Normally Nicole would head back to the house to wash out her wound, but seeing as the women down below was still staring at her she thought it best to get down there and get this whole thing over with. As she made her way down the ridge Sawyer soon followed after her. The woman had yet to look away from her. Nicole didn’t know whether to find that odd or kind of endearing. 

It wasn’t until she was a couple yards away from the woman that Nicole realized just how beautiful she was. Her long brown hair flowed past her shoulders and laid at the small of her back, she was wearing a white crop top and high waisted denim shorts that left little to the imagination, and her eyes sparkled like nothing Nicole had ever seen before. Before she knew it Nicole was standing no more than two feet in front of the woman with a look of awe plastered across her face.

She was brought out of her trance when Sawyer let out an excited bark and darted straight towards the beautiful lady, nearly knocking Nicole off her feet. 

“Oh well hi there buddy! What’s your name?”

“NICOLE!”

The woman looked up startled by the sudden outburst and gave her a very confused yet comical look before turning her attention back to the dog.

“Oh wait! Shit, no I’m Nicole. The dog’s name is Sawyer!” Nicole hurried out.

Once the woman stood back up from her crouched position she tilted her head to the side obviously entertained by the rancher’s lack of poise. 

“I’m Nicole. He’s Sawyer. And You’re Waverly” 

With everything that had happened within the last thirty seconds Nicole had completely forgotten about her injury and in an attempt to salvage the train wreck of an introduction, to quite honestly the most beautiful woman she had ever seen, she reached out her hand for a formal and very very normal hand shake. It was then that she realized she had utterly failed when Waverly’s expression turned from one of amusement to one of concern and honest to God horror.

“HOLY SHIT BALLS, YOUR HAND!”


	3. Chapter 3

“HOLY SHIT BALLS, YOUR HAND!”

As Nicole followed Waverly’s gaze down to her hand she then realized that her attempt at a very very normal hand shake ended up looking like a scene out of a goddamn B rated horror film.

“What? Oh fuck…shit I’m sorry!” 

Nicole quickly withdrew her hand and placed it behind her back, as if that would erase everything that had just happened. 

“You’re hurt! We need to get that cleaned up ASAP.”

Before Nicole could protest, the young woman was ushering her into the homestead. Both women entered through the front door yet neither one went beyond the foyer. Nicole turned to Waverly to find that she had a blank expression on her face. Nicole couldn’t tell what Waverly was thinking. However, when Waverly finally felt a pair of eyes on her she spoke up. 

“Um I don’t actually know where the bathroom is.”

This jolted Nicole into action as she pointed down the hallway with her uninjured hand. ‘Of course she doesn’t know where the bathroom is you idiot, you’re supposed to be the one showing her around’, thought Nicole.

“Oh right. Yea it’s the second door on the right.

Waverly entered the bathroom first, followed by Nicole. Unbeknownst to Waverly the light switch was behind her so Nicole took the opportunity to not seem like a total idiot and reached past her shoulder to flip the switch. The bright light cast an orangish glow on everything in the room. It was then that Nicole noticed Waverly’s tan skin looked absolutely flawless under such circumstances. Waverly also took this moment to really look at the woman standing in front of her. She noticed that Nicole’s fiery red hair was actually a really deep auburn and that her eyes were strikingly kind looking, as if they’d never seen a bad thing in their lifetime. It seemed like both women would be stuck in that moment had it not been for the sudden flickering of the overhead light.

“Can…can I take a look at that?” Waverly finally said as she reached for Nicole’s hand.

“Oh uh yea. Thanks”

Both women remained quite while Waverly took the glove off of Nicole’s hand and began washing it in the sink. The silence wasn’t awkward surprisingly, it was comfortable; as comfortable as it could be considering Nicole was not very aware of how much pain she was in. After her hand was cleaned Nicole showed Waverly where Ward kept all of his medical supplies. 

“Never took daddy as the medical emergency prepared type.”

This was a comment that was not lost on Nicole. If she knew one thing about Ward Earp it was that he was prepared for everything. Multiple backup generators, years’ worth of canned food and bottled water, medical supplies that should probably only be kept in an emergency room, and basically every type of freeze dried food on the market. Yes, if Nicole were a braver woman she would’ve labeled Ward one of those crazy apocalypse preppers.

 

********

 

After the two women finished up in the bathroom they made their way into the kitchen. Waverly sat in one of the only two chairs at the table and Nicole leaned up against the refrigerator. Waverly looked around the small worn-down kitchen, eyes raking over the cracks in the window frames and the chipped white paint on the cabinets. “So…you must be the Nicole that’s supposed to show me around this dump.” Nicole was startled by Waverly’s tone. 

‘This was her father’s home … and he did just die, shouldn’t she be a little more … kind?’

“Oh um yep that’s me…” Nicole hurried out. “I can take you around the property if you’d like. We can take my truck, it’s just over the ridge right there. Or…or if you wanted to take your car that would be totally cool too I just thought that my truck would handle the terrain better and…’

Before Nicole could finish her very long-winded sentence, Waverly put her hand up to get the red head to stop rambling. “It’s okay, Nicole. I think it would be best to take your truck … my car kind of almost died just coming down the road to the house.” Nicole felt a smile creep onto her face at the memory of one very pristine red jeep bouncing around the 100 yards that make up Ward’s drive. “HA yea! Well if you were trying to showcase the new Jeep’s suspension capabilities I think you nailed it.” “Hey be nice!”, Waverly exclaimed as she stood from her chair and lightly hit Nicole on the shoulder. “My poor baby isn’t used to driving over the equivalent of middle earth, it’s not my fault the city has immaculate roads.” Nicole rolled her eyes at the brunettes half assed explanation. “Well maybe If you were out here more your car wouldn’t get tossed around like a bouncy ball”, Nicole laughed. Waverly’s jovial expression quickly turned to one of hurt and anxiety. “…well we should probably get going, I’m sure you have other things to take care of today.” And with that she left Nicole in the kitchen, stunned at how quickly the mood had changed.

“Hey wait up!” Nicole said, as she simultaneously reached for Waverly’s wrist. The cliché, yet unmistakable, spark that travelled up Nicole’s arm and into her chest didn’t go unnoticed. “I – I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by that I swear!” Waverly saw the genuine look of regret on the red head’s face. “I know. It’s just that things with my dad are - were complicated.” Nicole didn’t really know what to say to that. She had also just realized that she was still holding Waverly’s wrist. Surprised that the shorter girl hadn’t pulled away yet Nicole reluctantly let go and instead moved her hand onto the small of Waverly’s back and led her up the ridge.


End file.
